Candida said, ‘It isn’t anything.’ There was a little bead of blood upon her chin, but it had begun to dry.
Anna clucked over her like a distressed hen.
‘It was the heavy bracelet. She did not mean to do that. It will not leave a scar.’
‘Oh, no – it’s nothing.’
‘She will be so distressed when she sees it. And your cheek – there will be a bruise!’
‘It will soon go. Anna, why did she do it?’
Anna made a wringing motion with her hands.
‘You said something about Miss Cara – I should have warned you. But what is one to do? One says too much, or one says too little. How is one to know what is right? I say nothing, and this happens! I have served them for forty years, and still I do not know what is best.’
Candida looked at her gravely.
‘Why was she so angry?’
Anna threw up her hands.
‘How do I know? You do not tell me what you say. It is something about Miss Cara?’
‘I said that she was tired – I had to help her up the stairs. I said that she was ill.’
‘But that is what no one must ever say. No one – no one must say it. I should have told you. Even I, after all these years – I tell you, you are not the only one. She has struck me before now. No one must ever say that Miss Cara is ill – she will not bear it.’
‘Why?’
‘Do you not know?’
‘How can I? It doesn’t make sense.’
Anna closed her lips and turned away. She moved towards the door. And then very suddenly she came back again, her white hair sticking up in a fuzz and her face working.
‘Miss Candida, do you not know what is on her mind? If Miss Cara is ill – she thinks suppose it were that Miss Cara should die. She is not strong – she has never been strong. If she dies, what happens then – what will there be left for Miss Olivia? Everything belongs to Miss Cara, but only for her life. She cannot leave it to her sister – not one penny of it! Miss Olivia will have enough to live on – in a little house in Retley! What would that be like for her? Do you think she would bear it? But this house and everything in it, and the money, and the Treasure – if there is any of it left, and how do I know if there is or not – all these things will be yours! And you tell her that Miss Cara is ill! Do you ask why she strikes you?’
She turned round and went out of the room.
Chapter Twenty
Since Nellie had gone, it was Anna who brought in the morning tea. Candida, who had not thought that she would sleep, lost herself almost from the moment that her head touched the pillow. There were no dreams, there was not anything, but she awoke with the feeling that she had been a long way off. Anna stood beside her, smiling and solicitous.
‘You slept? There is nothing like sleep and another day. Last night everyone is tired, everything goes wrong. We are gloomy, we quarrel. It is all very bad. But this morning we forget about it – it is gone.’
Candida pulled herself up in the bed, her nightgown slipping from one shoulder. She blinked at Anna and said,
‘I don’t think it’s as easy as that’
Anna laughed.
‘Oh, yes, yes! Why, the rain is over, the sun shines and the birds sing! What is the use of thinking about yesterday’s weather? We are not there any more. If it rained yesterday, there is no need for us to wet our feet today. Come, you did not tell me about the party. Did you like the music? Did you see Mr. Eversley? Well, I think you did, and I think that was one of the things that made Miss Olivia cross. She does not think he is good enough for you. She would like you to be fond of Mr. Derek, and she would like him to be fond of you.’
Candida laughed.
‘But I am very fond of Derek, and I hope he is fond of me.’
Anna tossed her head, the white hair flew up.
‘If it were like that, you would not say so! When you say of someone, “I am so fond of him,” that means nothing at all. But if you say, “I hate him,” or “I don’t think about him,” that is the one I would look out for! Now drink your tea, or it will be cold. And let me see your face… Dio Mio! What it is to have a skin that heals like that! There is hardly anything to show! If you will put a little cream and powder on it, there will be nothing for anyone to talk about.’
Candida drank her tea and set down the cup. Then she said,
‘Anna, I can’t stay here.’
Anna threw up her hands.
‘Because Miss Olivia loses her temper? In forty years how many times do you think she has lost it with me? And for you it is all in the family. You are the child of the house, the little niece of whom everyone is fond, and you get sometimes a present and sometimes a slap. Would you make any more of it than that? If you do, you will be making much trouble about a very little thing. And Miss Cara will be sad, and that is not good for her. My poor Miss Cara, she has had enough!’
And that was true. Remembering how small and frail the little creature had looked, Candida’s heart misgave her. You can’t just ride your high horse down the middle of the road and not care whether you knock someone else over, especially if they are poor little things like Aunt Cara.
Anna’s large dark eyes were fixed on her with a melting expression. Candida was reminded of a spaniel pleading for cake. She thought, ‘Oh, well, let her have it,’ and broke into a smile.
‘All right, Anna. But what do I do next – walk into the dining-room and say good morning as if nothing had happened?’
Anna nodded vigorously.
‘That will be the best thing. Yes, that will be much the best. I do not think that Miss Olivia will say anything. And if you say nothing and she says nothing’ – she brought her hands together with a clapping sound – ‘well, then there is nothing to be said. You have your breakfast in peace, you eat in peace. There is nothing at all so bad for the digestion as to quarrel when you are eating. No, no, no, for the good digestion there should be pleasant talk with friends, there should be smiles, there should be laughter. And that will do my poor Miss Cara good.’
Candida laughed.
‘A little optimistic, aren’t you, Anna? But I’ll do what I can for Aunt Cara’s sake.’
Anna smiled, nodded, and then turned suddenly grave again.
‘Oh, my poor Miss Cara!’ she said, and was in a hurry to go.
Seen by daylight the mark on Candida’s cheek really did show very little. Still it did show, and so did the scratch on her chin. She did what she could, yet when she met Derek on the stairs his eyebrows went up.
‘Hullo, what have you been doing to yourself? Had a rough house?’
She put her finger to her lip. There were footsteps on the landing above. As they glanced round, Miss Olivia came into sight. She wore a straight black woollen gown buttoned down the front, and a short coat of grey and violet stuff. Her hair shone. Her smooth sallow skin showed no trace of an emotional upset. She came down slowly and with her accustomed dignity to where they were waiting at the foot of the stairs. Arrived, she said good-morning first to Candida and then to Derek, and offered a cool cheek to each of them in turn.
Candida had not known that she would feel so much revulsion. The brief touch of that cold skin was horrible. It took her all she knew not to recoil from it.
Whatever Derek knew or didn’t know, he could always be counted on for a pleasant flow of words. He opined that it was going to be a fine day, and he talked about the party in a very lively manner. It did just occur to Candida that it wasn’t perhaps the safest subject in the world. Miss Olivia didn’t miss much, and she might have seen her step behind the curtain with Stephen. Perhaps she had. Perhaps that was at the back of her anger. Or if she had not actually seen them go, she might have missed them both and guessed that they were together. Impossible to say.